Foundation garment



April 17, 1934.

, L. MALMSTEAD FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed June 25, 1932 Patented Apr. 17,1934 -"FTH'UNITED STATES PATENT OF FOUNDATION GARMENT Lilyan Malmstead,Worcester, Mass.

Application June 25, 1932, Serial No. 619,295

10 Claims.

The principal objects of this invention are to provide a foundationgarment having means whereby, instead of allowing the diaphragm fullplay sideways, as is usual, this will be eliminated and in place thereofthe diaphragm will be free to move vertically, thus taking off theshoulders of the wearer the present tendency of garments of this kind topull down in front on the'shoulders and giving the wearer fullopportunity to straighten up and assume a proper posture; to providemeans in cooperation therewith, located at the back of the garment, forproducing a downward pull on the body of the wearer at the lower part ofthe back of the foundation garment, also tending to straighten thewearer and draw in the buttocks; to provide a method of holding the topof the garment by means of shoulder straps having elasticity and asimple means of adjustability to bring the garment'to the proper heightover the breasts, and to provide a garment in which these severalfeatures may all be combined or in which the first two mentionedfeatures can be employed together without the third feature.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is afront elevation of a foundation garment constructed inaccordance withthis invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a side view, and

Fig. 4 is a rear view showing the preferred supporting means.

This invention relates to that type of garment known as a foundationgarment or corset. As heretofore made, the front and back of the garmenthave been rigid vertically as far as allowing any freedom of motion ofthewearer in that direction. Usually they have been. made of a materialthat stretches laterally but not vertically allowing the diaphragm tospread sideways and preventing the straightening of the body or at.

least restricting the same. Another difliculty with the garments of thiskind on the market is that the shoulder straps are non-elastic andfurther restrict thewearer and. prevent adjustment after the garment ismade except by ripping out the stitches and putting. them in a differentplace.

Thisgarment is designed to provide freedom on the part of the wearer tostand up straight and avoid a rigid resistance to the assumption of anerect posture. The garment also is provided with means bywhich thewearer is left free to; stand up straight and means for taking off the"shoulup and down from the center to form two points ders some 'of thestrain that has been necessary with previous garments. It also providesmeans for drawing in the body at the back and bottom of the garment,thus further assisting the wearer in standing in an erect position.

Referring to the drawing, the garment is made in the form of a singlegarment, including a girdle or corset 10'constituting the lower part anda brassiere or uplift 11 constituting the upper part and means forholding the combination in correct position and in particular to keepthe brassire or uplift in the position desired. The lower portion 10 isformed of any convenient material such as is used for this purpose butthis material is not elastic vertically although it may be laterally. Itis,connected with the brassiere 11 by one or more seams at about thewaist line. The garment opens along oneside and hooks or other fasteningdevices are used.

In the middle of the front of the garment in a position to cover thediaphragm and thereby form a diaphragm support is a piece 12 of elasticfabric which will stretch vertically but not horizontally. This elasticcloth covers the entire area of the front of the diaphragm to allow theso front part of the body the natural stretch intended by nature. It iswide at or near the center and the widest part is put at the waist lineor a little above. In the form shown, it extends 13 and 14. The mostconvenient form for this piece of elastic cloth is diamond shape asshown, but any other shape can be employed involving the sameprinciples. This piece of elastic cloth 12 is set into the garment so tospeak and sewed to it by seams along its edges, these seams connectingit with the lower part 10 and the brassiere 11 of the garment.

It will be seen that it extends from the top point of the uplift orbrassiere and spreads down to the right and to the left following thenatural inside line of the breasts to the waist line or a point adjacentthereto. The lower point 14 of course is formed by the gradual narrowingof the material from a point at or near the level of the waist line andextends three or four inches below the waist line. This piece of cloth,put in that way, gives flexibility and control and at the same timeallows correct and free breathing. At the bottom of the lower section 10is shown a V-shaped piece of ordinary elastic 15. There are two garters16, one on each side of the garment in front.

The rear of the garment, as shown in Fig. 2,

constitutes a continuation of the parts thus described including boththe lower section 10 and the brassiere 11. The material down forapproximately two thirds of the back is made of any usual cloth ormaterial that is not elastic vertically. A substantially rectangularinsert 18 at the bottom of the back is formed in approximatelyrectangular form of the same kind of cloth as the insert 12. That is, itis, elastic vertically but not circumferentially. These two pieces ofvertically elastic material 12 and 18 cooperate with each other. Thecloth 18 pulls the hips down at the back and. is provided with fourgarters 19, there being preferably a distance of about 2 inches betweenthe right hand pair and the left hand pair and about one inch betweenthe garters of each pair. By having these four garters so nearlyconnected together they can be attached to the hose in the usual way soas to exert a pull downwardly on this vertically stretching fabric 18all the way across it.

It will be seen therefore that this stress is employed to pull in orforward the back part of the body at the lower end of the entiregarment, thus assisting the elastic fabric 12 in helping the wearer toassume a correct erect position. It is obvious that the obtrusion of theback of the body prevents the shoulders from being held straight and itis further obvious that the freedom afforded by the insert 12 willenable the wearer to stand as nature intended.

I have not heretofore described in detail how the garment is supported.A pair of loops 20 of non-elastic fabric are secured to the brassiere atthe front by two strands or ends on opposite sides of each breast andextend upwardly from these points where they form a loop 21 at the topover each breast. These loops which are anchored at or near the bottomof the brassiere do not press on the breasts, but their lower ends,where they are secured to the top of the lining piece 23, are nearenough together to draw this lining piece of the brassiere up over'thebreasts. This constitutes the uplift. The loops 20 are not secured tothebrassiere at the top but pass freely under cross straps 25 at thetop. They provide a means by which a pair of elastic straps 22 can beadiustably connected with them above the straps 25 so that thesuspension is not only elastic but readily adjustable. This isaccomplished by securing the elastic straps 22 to the top of the garmentat the back. The front of the elastic strap is doubled upon itself andheld by an ordinary metallic grip 24. In this way it will be seen thatthe shoulder straps are both elastic and adjustable. These shoulderstraps holdthe combination in correct position and the non-elasticstraps 20 connected as they are with the brassiere near the bottom holdthat in the correct position.

This constitutes a garment relieved from the bulk that is common in manyof the garments of this general nature, provided with an improved methodof supporting it-at the shoulders which acts to support the garment withelasticity, thus adding to the comfort. It also supports the brassierepart of the garment from below and keeps the breasts up in properposition. It provides freedom for the wearer to throw her shoulders backand maintain a proper posture and also assists in throwing the back partof the body in, thus assisting the attainment of the correct posture. Ithas a very different effect from the ordinary garment which stretcheslaterally and permits the diaphragm to stretch circumferentially whichis detrimentalto the wearer because the body tends undesirably to expandsideways. It also does'away with the fact that the ordinary shouldersupports have t6 be sewed on in new places in order to get anyadjustability. Although I have illustrated and described only one formof the invention I am aware of the fact this respect otherwise than asset forth in the claims, but what I claim is:-

1. As an article of manufacture, a foundation garment or the like havingnear the center of the front thereof a diamond shaped piece of materialelastic vertically and non-elastic horizontally, the upper part of thediamond extending to a point between the breasts of the wearer, the sidepoints being located near the waist line and the lower point extending adistance below the waist line proportionate to the distance which theupper point extends above the waist line.

2. As an article of manufacture, a foundation garment or the like havinga piece of vertically but not horizontally elastic material, the centerof which is located above the waist line in front and having narrowerends extending upwardly and downwardly therefrom, said piece of elasticmaterial being entirely surrounded by material that is not elasticvertically.

3. In a foundation garment or the like, the combination with materialsurrounding the body but not vertically elastic, of a piece ofvertically but not horizontally elastic material surrounded by saidnon-elastic material, located at the front of the garment and coveringthe diaphragm, a piece of material at the lower rear end of the garmentthat is also vertically but not horizontally elastic for cooperationwith each other to hold the body in correct position, and non-elasticmaterial connected "with said lower rear elastic material and extendingupwardly to the first named nonelastic material at the rear of the topof the garment to transmit strain from one piece of elastic material tothe other.

4. As an article of manufacture, a foundation garment or the like havinga vertically but not horizontally elastic piece extending upwardly anddownwardly from about the level of the waistline, in front, for thepurpose of holding the diaphragm in and relieving the strain of thegarment on the shoulders of the wearer, shoulder straps connected withthe top of the garment at the front and back, a piece of vertically butnot horizontally elastic material at the lower end of the rear of thegarment provided with four garters at the rear for the purpose ofexerting a forward pressure on the rear of the body, whereby the twoelastic pieces cooperate to hold the body in an upright position,non-elastic material extending upwardly from the .lower elastic materialto the upper elastic material to transmit strains from one to the other,and two garters at the front of the garment.

5. In a foundation garment orthe like, the combination of a main partmade up mainly of material which is not elastic vertically to surroundthe body of the wearer, a brassiere part secured to it above, a piece ofvertically but not horizontally elastic material located in the front,entirely surrounded by non-elastic material, covering the diaphragm andextending up to a position between the breasts, a substantiallyrectangular piece of vertically but not laterally elastic material atthe extreme bottom of the rear of the garment, surrounded, except at thebottom, by said non-elastic material, elastic adjustable shoulderstraps, and straps of extending from the bottom of the brassire at thesides of the breasts and forming loops to form a connection with thefirst named shoulder straps.

6. In a garment or the like, the combination of a brassiere part, apiece of vertically but not piece in the back at the bottom, and fabricnot elastic vertically, extending from top to bottom both front and backand connecting the two elastic pieces.

8. A garment comprising an uplift provided with a piece of vertically,but not horizontally, elastic material in the center of the front, wideat the waistline and narrow at the top, said narrow top extending up toa point between the breasts of the wearer.

9. A garment comprising an uplift consisting of two pouches forsupporting the breasts and a vertically, but not horizontally, elasticmember between them and connecting them at the top.

10. A garment comprising an uplift, said garment being provided with avertically, but not horizontally, elastic diaphragm support in the frontbelow said uplift and extending laterally in both directions from apoint under the center of the uplift.

LILYAN MALMSTEAD.

